Who says spending hours on the computer is bad for your mental health?
Not researchers at Trinity College Dublin, who just published their findings which showed that people who use social media outlets like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are making themselves more intelligent in the process.
The Irish version of the “Sunday Times” in the U.K. reported that the researchers discovered a link between human social interaction and smartness. Those who interact more on a social level – even via the Internet – are also increasing their intelligence levels.
The “Times” says that the researchers – led by Trinity professor Andrew Jackson and a PhD student, Luke McNally – built a digital organism, a computer system with 50 to 100 neural networks, each of which represented a human brain with the ability to decide.
“We set up a computer model that takes in information about who did what to me the last time I met them,” said Jackson.
“What was the reward I got the last time I interacted with you as a person? I can store that as a memory . . . our model is absolutely analogous to the process of evolution and is analogous to a brain.”
One of the tests that the networks underwent was a game of a prisoner’s dilemma, with the scenario of two people being brought into a police station and charged with a crime.
The findings were published in the “Proceedings of the Royal Society B,” a biological science journal in London.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Using Twitter makes you smarter say Irish scientists | Irish News | IrishCentral via #SoulcialMe
New career website JIBE lets friends help each other via #SoulcialMe
In the high-stress, high-competition job search arena, Lehigh's own Seth Handler, '07, can probably offer you an important resource. Handler is "The JIBE Guy" at Jibe.com —a website that connects jobseekers with open positions using social media sites like Facebook or LinkedIn.
Launched in 2010, the site works by allowing jobseekers to look through more than 100,000 open positions that employers have posted to the job board. Once you have found a position that you would like to apply for, you can find anyone in your Facebook or LinkedIn networks to give you a "thumbs-up" (JIBE's term for a referral that will be sent along with that application).
Essentially, a jobseeker would ask for a thumbs-up from someone in their network who is connected to their desired job in some way and has worked in a professional setting with the jobseeker before. Thumbs-ups are meant to add credit to the application.
Complete with a JIBE-branded front page, cover letter, resume, and list of the references that gave you thumps-ups, JIBE sends the application to selected employers. The site says that recruiters are more likely to call for an interview, and eventually hire you, if you show that you took the time to get thumbs-ups from people in your network, though it is not absolutely necessary to get them.
JIBE is free of charge to jobseekers. The process is meant to be simple and successful, going by the motto: "Where friends help friends land jobs."
"Our goal is to provide each jobseeker with a personalized job search that meets their needs," Handler said.
The job board contains everything from internships and entry-level positions, to high-profile jobs, many at Fortune 1000 companies.
This site differs from other job search engines and online application processes in that referrals are sent directly and cannot be lost through email or other mediums. Additionally, JIBE does not serve as a middleman. After applying, the employers can contact the applicant directly and no longer have to communicate through JIBE.
It is necessary to be on Facebook or LinkedIn to use JIBE so that you can see all of your friends' employment and education histories, and so that you can search your network to find people to ask for a thumbs-up. However, JIBE explicitly promises not to spam your network, send emails without your consent, or give away personal information.
The only things shown on the site are your picture and work experience and this can only be viewed by your Facebook or LinkedIn connections that also use JIBE. The only people who can see that you applied for a position are those who you specifically asked to give you a thumbs-up, because they received a message requesting them to do so.
Like all start-up companies, JIBE is constantly changing and evolving. The company's founders built on what they learned from the job board and turned that knowledge into a very successful business geared toward recruiters and hiring managers at top companies.
Interestingly, three current JIBE employees got their jobs through the website.
As "The JIBE" guy, Handler is in charge of all customer communications, including the Twitter and Facebook pages, blog, videos, emails and the job board.
"My goal for the site is to constantly improve the job search experience for our users," Handler said. "As someone who was a freelancer for many years and has been involved with numerous companies and industries, I know how hard it is to find a great job."
"If we can break down the walls between job applicants and hiring companies and give people all the tools necessary to land their dream job, then I think I've done my job," Handler said.
Handler graduated from Lehigh's College of Business and Economics with a degree in marketing and a minor in psychology.
"I realized that I did not want to go into finance or accounting like a lot of my peers, so I started to look into the entertainment world," he said.
"After spending a few years working in TV and radio, I decided to make the transition to tech starts-up and I love being on the ground floor of a company," Handler said.
Lehigh has the privilege of boasting very high employment rate. From the class of 2011, only 2 percent are still looking for jobs, while the others have been hired, are continuing their education, or serving in the military. Forty seven percent of Art and Science graduates are employed, 86 percent of Business and Economics students, and 68 percent of engineers.
"I was extremely excited when I began my job hunt," said Zachary Casler, '12. "The thoughts of landing a great job after college motivated me to apply to over 40 different positions. I knew that the extent of my efforts in searching for a job would end up deciding how I fared in the long run."
Like Casler, 59 percent of last year's class who found jobs did so through LUCIE —the Lehigh University Career Information Exchange.
"When looking for a job, I used LUCIE to send out a majority of my applications," Casler said. "In addition to this, I posted my resume up on individual company web pages if they were not recruiting specifically at Lehigh."
"I used Glassdoor.com to gauge salaries and to see what others had to say about company interview processes and the organization as a whole," Casler said.
Casler said he is not likely to use JIBE when searching for jobs in the future.
"The interface lacks a certain functionality that is vital when narrowing down positions," he said. "In addition to this, there are other established websites that provide the same services."
As with any new company, it is going to take time before JIBE catches on and is widely used and accepted.
Story by Brown and White lifestyle writer Emily Mack, '15.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Growing Your Business Organically - International Business Times #SoulcialMe
The Internet has emerged as one of the most prominent platforms for businesses to market their products and services to consumers around the world, but some companies are still unsure of the best way to leverage the Web in their favor. Nearly the entire online landscape is an advertising zone and it is not uncommon for companies to spend thousands of dollars on ad placement and see only a minimal ROI. However, there are also more organic alternative for businesses attempting to increase their online visibility.
While many business owners are already aware of the impact that search engines and social media have had on the Internet itself, they may still be unaware that those can be utilized as useful marketing tools, as well. Many companies have already implemented search engine and social media optimization strategies to gain traffic and boost revenues and many more are realizing the value of such campaigns. Organic Internet marketing works differently from more traditional advertising as it is intended to bring relevant pages to the forefront of search results rather than simply delivering banner ads on pages that may never be viewed by potential consumers.
Organic SEO and SMO strategies are amongst the most widely utilized Internet marketing techniques and their past success has indicated that they can be a viable alternative to traditional online advertising. As the online marketing industry continues to grow, even more innovative techniques are being developed to enhance organic traffic and help businesses reach their full potential on the Web. For business owners that have not seen high returns from their advertising campaigns, the organic alternative may be the best solution.
Copyright Webimax All rights reserved.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Google’s adjust it's social platform and the Facebook acquires Instagram #SoulcialMe
Social media marketing and the ability for businesses to gauge its contributions to sales were among the most frequently discussed topics in internet marketing this week. Industry analysis along with new announcements from Google relating to Google+ and Analytics will likely change the ways consumers and web marketers approach social.
In terms of industry trends, Social Media Examiner recently released its Social Media Marketing Industry Report 2012, which detailed a number of trends and practices that have become the norm for businesses using the channel.
According to Social Media Examiner, 83 percent of companies using social media marketing said it was important to their company.
As companies work to develop their presences on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and other social networks, they find that it has myriad benefits for their organization. Aside from the increased appeal to prospects and greater website traffic, it can be an easy way to improve the visibility of a business.
Successful social media campaigns complement other web efforts, such as content marketing, by providing links to website content. As fans or followers move further through a company’s conversion funnel, they are more likely to make a purchase. Another revelation from Social Media Examiner’s report was that 40 percent of businesses found their efforts in social have led to increased sales for their company.
Brafton reported that, aside from sales, companies have seen wide-reaching effects from social media marketing. Website traffic grew for 69 percent of respondents, while 65 percent found they have learned more about their target audience with social media marketing.
As businesses find new benefits from their social campaigns, many are diversifying their efforts to target a wide range of prospects. Brafton relayed Social Media Examiner found that more than 90 percent of companies active on social are using Facebook.
Twitter and LinkedIn finished second and third in the poll, respectively. While Google+ was not as successful, the platform was the choice of many when asked which social network they hoped to learn more about in 2012.
Social Media Examiner’s report came out shortly before Google announced a series of adjustments to Google+ aimed at making the platform more visual and intuitive for those looking to interact on it.
Brafton reported on Wednesday that the main adjustments were a customizable navigation ribbon on the left, which will allow users to move between different pages more easily. All of the site’s features, such as Hangouts, Circles and Pages, are accessible on the toolbar, and users can arrange the icons for each tool as they like.
Moving away from utility, the changes made images posted to the web larger and more attractive. Interacting with contacts on Google+ is also easier with larger conversation cards.
As Google looks to improve its social platform with improvements, Facebook made some of the biggest news of the week by looking outside of its company. On Monday, Facebook acquired photo-sharing service Instagram for $1 billion. The move, which surprised most, was announced on Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s blog on Monday.
Zuckerberg said that Instagram will still operate as an independent mobile application for users to share photos across social networks. At this point, Brafton reported that the integration between Facebook and Instagram is unclear. While Instagram employees will become members of the Facebook team, Zuckerberg doesn’t anticipate altering the company or its products much, he said. It’s likely that most of the changes will be aimed at making Facebook’s photo-sharing capability better.
As social networks continue to become more user-friendly, it’s likely that more businesses will look to implement them into their new media marketing plans. Google made another announcement this week that could help companies develop a more clear picture of their web campaigns.
Brafton reported on Tuesday that Google Analytics can now measure multichannel sales attribution, which will help companies using social, search and other channels gauge the effectiveness of their campaigns. For example, should a prospect convert with a website, each channel he or she interacted with leading up to the eventual purchase or other conversion will be credited.
On its Analytics blog, Google cited data from Econsultancy, which said 72 percent of marketers prefer multichannel attribution since it allows them to budget more effectively. Rolling this capability out to analytics users will make it easier to set marketing budgets in line with the results each channel is producing. Moreover, businesses can make adjustments as necessary to avoid spending on ineffective campaigns or undervaluing those generating leads and conversions.
One such channel seeing increased success is organic search marketing. The market has been heavily slanted in Google’s favor in recent years and that continued in March with 66.4 percent of search queries taking place on Google.com, according to market research firm comScore.
The most interesting element of the study was the continued struggles of Yahoo. The company fell to 13.7 percent of all queries in March. Overall, the search engine fielded 5 percent fewer queries than it did in March of 2011, while Google and Bing improved by at least 10 percent in this regard.
For marketers using organic search marketing, content-driven SEO campaigns should still focus on Google. Another consideration, though, must be the mobile audience. On Thursday, Brafton reported that 66 percent of smartphone users turn to their handsets when they are shopping to conduct research.
Leo J. Shapiro & Associates conducted a study that found many of these shoppers are using their handsets to access content discussing a product’s utility and value. Using content marketing to rank well on mobile SERPs can help appeal to these shoppers.
This is especially useful as smartphone and tablet users have become increasingly likely to access news content on their website, according to Pew. Brafton reported that mobile device users often begin reading more news content when they purchase these devices. While the SEO strategies designed to reach mobile audiences varies slightly from that aimed at desktop users, generating high-quality content related to the industry is still a strong strategy.
Moreover, original editorial content can help businesses improve trust in their organization among a target audience. Nielsen reported this week that news and other forms of editorial content ranked third in a poll regarding marketing methods. Brafton reported that the least trustworthy channels, according to consumers, were direct marketing campaigns aimed solely at making sales.
With Google’s adjustments and the Facebook-Instagram news, it will be interesting to watch each storyline play out over the next seven days. Check back here next week to see how it – and the rest of the week – played out.
WOW - Social media networks are taking marketing for and to companies to a whole new plateau... I'm getting out the ingredients to make the doughnuts!
I love this Twitter how-t0 guide by Kyle Brown | Twitter 101 - Golf Course Industry #SoulcialMe
Twitter 101
Features - Cover StoryNew to the world of social media? Our guide shows superintendents how to get the most out of their feeds.
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Whether you’re constantly updating your feed or completely unplugged, social media like Twitter has definitely found its place on the golf course. Superintendents use it for weather and play updates for club members, as well as a connection to other turf professionals. But for all its benefits, Twitter can seem overwhelming for a beginner.
Here’s how to get started using Twitter:
First, keep your team in consideration when signing up for an account. Choose a username and password that could also be used by assistants or other crew members. Keep the username brief and easy to say when telling course members about it.
During the process of signing up, you can allow Twitter to take a peek into your online e-mail address book (such as Gmail) to send e-mail letting your contacts know you’ve started an account. If your account is intended to reach just other superintendents or members, you may want to skip that step.
Once the account is created, it’s time to start adding content to your feed – which is made up of the Tweets posted by people you follow, with the newest Tweets at the top. Search for people you know using the Search bar – we suggest starting with @GCIMagazine – but be sure to check the profile or a few Tweets to make certain you’ve found the right profile. The “@” symbol in front of a name indicates a username, which can be very different from a person’s actual name. Another easy source of people to follow comes from looking through the feed of someone you already follow. If you share interests, chances are good that person will know others you’ll find interesting.
But for many superintendents, the real usefulness of the Twitter feed is in reaching colleagues and players with course updates. Once an account is created, it’s time to get the word out and start gathering followers in your membership. Even with just a few in tow, make it a point to start regular updates – maybe just one each day, to get in the habit and establish a routine of posting information like weather or course conditions. The 140-character limit on Tweets is ideal for an immediate, short update that needs to reach your entire membership quickly.
Composing a Tweet is easy enough. The simplest form is just a straightforward phrase or so, used as a quick note. There’s no required length to a Tweet, and nothing is less or more important than anything else.
But here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Want to get someone’s attention? Use their @username in your Tweet. Twitter collects these as “mentions” under the “Connect” tab, where users can see who’s talking to them. When a @username begins the Tweet, it will only show up in feed of the person mentioned, and users who follow both accounts.
- You can attach photos, locations and links in your Tweets. Having trouble with some turf and want to ask colleagues about it? Take a photo with your smartphone. If you Tweet from your phone, you can upload it as well.
- When you’ve got several Tweets about the same topic, or are part of an event, hashtags – any phrase with “#” in front of it – are especially useful. Whether a single word in the message, or a separate phrase at the end of a Tweet, a clicked hashtag will collect all the Tweets from about the past two weeks that use it. Many Twitter users also use hashtags to make quick afterthought jokes, since one of the main uses of Twitter is humor.
- It’s easy to ReTweet (or RT) someone else’s information if you think your followers will find it useful, but don’t get into the habit too much. A stream of ReTweets clutters others’ feeds. But adding your own comment to a Tweet is just as easy – try a Reply to their Tweet instead, beginning with your note and then copying most of their original Tweet with “RT @username”.
- Web links get shortened when posted to Twitter, and most people won’t click on a link without knowing where it leads. When posting a link or photo, be sure to add a description of your own, even if it’s just a few words.
How does a Twitter feed work?
The Kitchen Sink
Of course, there’s more to social media than just Twitter. Here are a few of the other networks your crew or members might use, and how useful we think they are for superintendents:
Facebook: Chances are good you already use Facebook, but have you thought about using it for course updates and helpful links to educational pages for your colleagues? Updating a status can include those, photos and videos, all of which can be easily uploaded from a smartphone. Facebook has been working hard to catch up to G+ in quick selection of who sees what content.
LinkedIn: Keeping things professional is what LinkedIn is all about. It’s a solid communication tool for keeping channels open for career movement and advancement, since connections will be on a professional level.
Google+: What Google+ brings to the table is an unmatched ability to select who sees what you’re posting by gathering your followers into Circles. If you’re posting a weather update, it would be a perfect fit for your “Members” Circle; posting some turf photos to try and diagnose dollar spot? That’s more apt for your Colleagues and Turf Researchers Circles. Google+ also gives you the ability to do instantaneous group chats with friends through Google+ Hangouts.
Pinterest: The newest kid in class, Pinterest has gotten a following by creating a purely visual way to collect interesting content on the Web. So it’s not the right place to post your daily weather updates – but it’s perfect for the before and after photos of the renovation, or shots of happy golfers at your most recent event.
Facebook, Updated!
As of March 30, the business pages on the most popular social networking site on the planet took on a major change. Facebook forced implementation of the “Timeline” profile format for all business pages – and that includes those for golf courses.
The change might seem drastic, but it actually presents some great opportunities for golf courses to connect in completely new ways with players and colleagues. Here are some tips for handling the switch like a pro.
Be visual. Taking a cue from other social media sites like Pinterest, Facebook is starting to skew for a more visual layout. The Timeline format organizes content not by its type but by its importance and timeliness. Want to share photos of the course? Upload a shot from your phone and watch it get top placement in your feed rather than being tucked away in an album. Keep that in mind when logging photos for a proposed upgrade project that needs to be sold to your members.The new “cover image” gives you another opportunity to use a beauty shot from your course to really show off the turf you work so hard to manage. Make the first thing the visitor sees just as memorable as the course itself.
Be in control. The new “Admin panel” not only collects all your notifications and alerts to one place, but gives you enhanced control of your entire page. Take a look at who’s recently liked elements on your page, and check out the statistics of what’s got people talking about them. Use your Activity Log to manage each interaction on your page.Use the bar beneath your cover image to show off important photos, links or apps your members might find useful. Individual posts can be managed to span the width of the Timeline for more prominence, or can even be permanently “pinned” to the top for more visibility.
Be a person. Facebook is allowing customers to offer reviews of companies on their own pages, which can be shared with others. It may be impossible for businesses to remove unfavorable customer reviews, but in trade, businesses are finally able to interact with users via private messages. Located in the Admin panel, new private messages will give you the chance to make things right with a dissatisfied member or discuss a problem on the course without airing the whole conversation on the course’s Wall.
Friday, April 13, 2012
What is social etiquette in social media? - Golf Course Industry via #SoulcialMe
What is social etiquette in social media?
Columns - Johnny turf nerdAt a recent conference presentation, an audience member asked about the proper use of social media and whether it was acceptable to not “follow” someone on Twitter or not accept a “friend request” on Facebook.
John Kaminski
Each year, students in Penn State’s golf course turfgrass management program must complete an etiquette course that culminates in a formal luncheon with faculty, staff and industry professionals. While the norms of social and dining etiquette are formalized in books such as Emily Post’s “Etiquette,” the uncertainty of etiquette in social media remains somewhat unclear.
At a recent conference presentation, an audience member asked about the proper use of social media and whether it was acceptable to not “follow” someone on Twitter or not accept a “friend request” on Facebook. After considering the question for a minute I realized I actually have some informal guidelines for this issue.
Some of these are hard-and-fast rules and some are just general guidelines to connect (or not connect) with others on social media.
Why I don’t “follow” you on Twitter. Twitter is my favorite of all the social media sites and I often get called out for not following certain people within the turfgrass industry. I try to explain to them that just because I wasn’t formally “following” them didn’t mean I wasn’t tracking what they were saying. I routinely check who my followers are and while I don’t always follow back, nearly everyone is put on a list. I have lists for “turfgrass,” “photography,” “Penn State” and even lists for those who I find offensive. I put those deviants on my “Rude and Obnoxious” list. It’s private so you don’t know who these people are. So although I don’t formally follow some of you, I often use applications like Tweetdeck to follow my “lists.” Despite this organization, I still maintain some reasoning for dropping or not following you in the first place. Here are some key reasons:
- You don’t have a profile picture. If you can’t take the time to upload a profile picture then you don’t deserve to be followed.
- You don’t tweet. There are plenty of “lurkers” out there and I encourage this, but if you don’t say anything then there is no point in following you.
- You’re inactive. I routinely check the activity of those that I follow and if you haven’t tweeted anything in 2-3 months then you’re out.
- You tweet too much all at once. I follow over 1,200 people on Twitter so this is a hard rule to break for my followers, but if I see five tweets in a row on my stream all from one person then I don’t have time to deal with you.
- You’ve been hacked. Accounts are hacked all the time and if you send me some spam via a direct message then I am sorry to say, you have to go.
How to “connect” on LinkedIn. This is a growing issue for me. I don’t use LinkedIn all that much, but I do find it’s the best professional social networking site out there. I frequently get requests on LinkedIn and many of them sit in the queue awaiting a decision. Since I find LinkedIn useful for professionals, I have rules for “connecting” with people there as well.
- You don’t have a profile pic. See reasoning above for Twitter.
- You are not in the turfgrass industry. I have college friends trying to connect with me all the time. I send them a message and politely inform them that I use LinkedIn for professional connections only. I then direct them to my Facebook page.
- You don’t include a personal message in your invitation to connect. While this isn’t essential, if someone I don’t know writes a personal message about why we should be connected I almost always accept.
- You’re too commercial. If it’s clear your purpose is to sell or promote things, I will not likely follow you. We all have jobs and we all promote something, but I don’t like it thrown in my face. Build yourself a “business page” and if I’m interested I will follow it.
Sure. We can be “friends” on Facebook. I accept just about everyone on Facebook, but occasionally people do not make the cut. If you don’t make the grade it’s probably because I can’t figure out who you are or even if you’re in the turf industry at all. Put a little effort into your profile to let me know that you are or plan to be a golf course superintendent and you’ll likely get in.One rule I do have is I WILL NOT be “friends” with anyone who has an account setup as a business or entity. Businesses should have “fan pages” and not setup their personal profile account as anything other than themselves. My one exception is “Poa annua.” Whoever that person is (and it’s not me), I find the concept comical.
My social media. My rules. So after reading this you may be thinking, “This guy’s a real jerk.” That may be the case (reread my intro in my inaugural column in the February issue), but basically I have to make some sense of all of the information being thrown at me. After all, these are MY social media profiles and MY guidelines.Trust me, I encourage people to “unfollow” or “unfriend” me all the time. Not everyone likes to see my tweets about “checking in” to Starbucks every morning. I accept this and encourage people to come up with their own list of rules that will bring order to their social media life. If I don’t make the cut, I won’t be offended.
Do you have rules of your own that I didn’t mention above? If so, tweet them to me at @JohnKaminski.
A few still refuse to befriend social media - San Antonio Express-News via #SoulcialMe
When it comes to social media, Chris Garza just doesn't care.
His complacent attitude concerning social networks isn't a display of coolness or nonconformist ideals, but an honest nonchalance toward them. Ask him about joining Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Foursquare, and he flat out chooses not to participate. He's not interested.
And no matter how archaic it may sound to his friends, he prefers to communicate via phone.
“All my friends have accounts and wonder what's wrong with me,” the San Antonio resident said. “They tell me I'm living in the past and that I need to catch up. I just never really think about it. If I need to reach them, I just call.”
Garza, 31, is part of the minority among Internet users in the United States, a group of quitters and nonadopters, social media pariahs who stand on the outside not really caring about being a part of the crowd.
It's estimated that 80 percent of adults in the U.S. are Internet users. Of those, 66 percent have adopted some form of social media, according to Lee Rainie, director of Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project. That number has skyrocketed since 2005 when the figure was 8 percent of Internet users. Facebook was estimated to have 166 million unique visitors in the United States during November, according to comScore. That's roughly 53 percent of the U.S. population.
Growth in social media users has slowed recently, but it isn't necessarily because people are fleeing the space. Rather, it's more about the market approaching a saturation point, Rainie said.
Those few who are without have a variety of reasons as to why they choose the road less traveled. Some are like Garza and just don't care. There are those who just aren't that social or who feel uncomfortable with the shallowness of conversation in that realm. Others point to security and privacy concerns, time issues and that there's too much noise in the social media space.
Two years ago, David Stephenson, 42, quit social media cold turkey, pulling the plug on his Facebook, Twitter, My- Space and LinkedIn accounts.
“I couldn't keep up, and I felt negligent,” said the photojournalism advisor for the student newspaper at the University of Kentucky. “It was more work than what it was worth, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized it was a bunch of useless junk. It was a big time suck.”
Clinical psychologist Jill Squyres said that of her patients and acquaintances who don't use social media, there's no one thing that sets them apart. But commonly, people who go without feel that the friendships created via social media aren't genuine.
“They feel that they're not real relationships, and they don't feel close,” she said.
Still, the relationships have proven to be real enough to be useful for private investigator Adrian Fox-Baker.
The old-school days of sleuthing were finished when he started using social media, he said. Now when he hits a dead end, he usually turns to social media for information such as birthdates, addresses, family and friend's names, business contacts and even a person's whereabouts at that exact moment.
“It gives me a bird's-eye view with what's going on with a particular subject,” he said. “If someone is looking to get noticed, they'll share whatever they can to make them more noticeable, even if it's not safe. Sometimes people just don't think.”
Over sharing is a common mistake on social networks, said Jeff Reich, a distinguished fellow with the Information Systems Security Association.
A social network should be considered a large crowded room where nothing is private, he said. His recommendation for social media users is not to share information such as birthdates, travel plans and other tidbits that cybercriminals can use. He also urges a unique login and password for each social networking site.
Despite the paranoia surrounding security, he said social media, when used responsibly, can be safe.
“People shouldn't be (social media) hermits.”
When he's not at work, Jon Hayes, 28, can probably be found kayaking or woodworking. His time isn't spent eyeing his Facebook account on his smartphone because he lacks both.
“I'm not anti-social. I'm just not interested,” said the Seattle engineer.
It irks him to see people glued to their smartphones while in actual social situations. As a face-to-face person, it's important to be entirely present in those instances, he said. Although he's a nonadopter, he does see value in social media. He's not planning to jump on the bandwagon anytime soon, but he hasn't counted it out all together.
“I don't want another distraction, right now. But, I guess, it's always a possibility.”
5 Tips for Effective Social Media Strategy via #SoulcialMe
Social media was once an “experimental communication tool used by a few forward‐thinking firms” in our industry. Now, on nearly every financial firm’s website you’ll find a trio of little blue boxes somewhere near the bottom. Corporate Insight, a research firm that provides competitive intelligence to financial institutions, released on Thursday a report spotlighting how financial firms have taken that growth and turned it into effective social media strategies.
“Over the past few years, the use of social media by financial services firms has increased exponentially,” Alan Maginn, senior analyst and social media expert at Corporate Insight, said in a statement. “Social media is a critical way for companies to communicate with their clients, prospects and other targeted audiences on a personal level.”
The report examines 90 financial services firms and ranks their Facebook pages, Twitter profiles, proprietary communities and blogs. While most firms that commit to a social media strategy will utilize the Big Three—Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn—Corporate Insight excluded LinkedIn from its report, as well as Google and YouTube.
While LinkedIn has an extraordinary membership (150 million members worldwide), Corporate Insight notes that “there’s very little variance between one firm’s LinkedIn presence and the next.” Furthermore, most interactions are private, making engagement exceedingly difficult to measure accurately. YouTube offers better metrics by which to measure engagement, but the report found engagement tends to be low. The commenting feature is rarely used by fans of financial services channels, and in fact, is often disabled by the firms. Since Google allowed firms to create business pages in November 2011, roughly 50% of the firms tracked by Corporate Insight established a business page in their name. However, they appear to have done little more than that. “Until more firms have the chance to establish functioning accounts on this new community, we feel it is premature to grade their efforts,” the report says.
Corporate Insight based its analysis of firms’ social media accounts on audience, content and engagement, but is especially focused on engagement.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Social Media and the Board: Why #Hashtags Should Matter to Directors | Business Ethics #SoulcialMe
by Michael Connor
As members of Facebook’s board of directors prepare for the company’s multi-billion dollar initial stock offering next month, they might want to keep an eye on a pesky new public relations campaign directed at them via Facebook and other social media networks. It highlights what could become a sticky governance issue: all seven directors at Facebook - the world’s largest social network - are men.
“Facebook’s default profile is a white male, but all of its board members don’t have to be,” is the message of the FACE IT campaign, which cites analyses showing that 58% of Facebook’s users are women, while female Facebookers participate in 62% of sharing on the network and 71% of daily fan activity. The goal of the campaign, say its organizers, is “to tell (CEO) Mark Zuckerberg and the rest of Facebook’s board that we think their board makeup is a joke! “
While it’s hard to say how Mr. Zuckerberg and his fellow directors will deal with their issue, it’s increasingly clear that the digital communications tools developed by Facebook and others - from blog posts and status updates to tweets and online petitions – are more frequently creating new challenges for senior management and boards at companies all around the globe. With Facebook now claiming more than 840 million active users around the globe - and networks like LinkedIn and Twitter growing dramatically in size and influence - what happens online is often a critical element in the governance equation.
“The social media phenomenon has made the leap from the consumer world to the board room,” declares a new report from the consulting firm PwC. “Directors are faced with sorting out how social media impacts the firms that they oversee and their own roles on the boards.”
Digital Dashboards
One source of online activity – posts by employees on platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter – has been an ongoing source of concern for many big companies. Compliance risks include posts that might damage a company’s reputation, defame other employees or management, or disclose confidential information. While many firms have developed guidelines (like those at Coke and Ford, for example), there’s still considerable uncertainty about what constitutes appropriate policy. The U.S. government’s National Labor Relations Board has cited a number of employers for taking disciplinary actions based on what the agency calls “overly broad” social media policies.
Beyond employee compliance, however, social networks may be reaching a point where their impact on corporate risk, reputation and operations can’t be ignored in the boardroom. A new paper from the Stanford Business School - “Monitoring Risks before They Go Viral: Is It Time for the Board to Embrace Social Media?” – suggests that directors ought to pay closer attention to what’s happening on Facebook and elsewhere.
“Directors are responsible for oversight of the corporation,” says the paper. “This includes monitoring and advising the senior executive team as it develops and implements the corporate strategy. Information gleaned through social media might provide unique and relevant insights into the success of these efforts and supplement the traditional key performance indicators (KPIs) that directors use to evaluate management and award bonuses.”
The authors – Stanford Professor David F. Larker, Sarah M. Larcker and Brian Tayan – argue that social media might alert the board to risks facing an organization in a way that is not currently available. These risks might include operational risk (how exposed the company is to disruptions in its operations), reputational risk (how protected are the company’s brands and corporate reputation) and compliance risk (how effectively the company complies with laws and regulations).
“Why haven’t more boards of directors made certain that management has a process in place for collecting, analyzing, and responding to this information?” the authors ask. “Do boards actually know what questions to ask? Can boards distinguish between a good system for monitoring social media and a bad one?”
The paper notes that Procter & Gamble has developed a digital “dashboard” that “uses Bayesian analysis to scan blogs, tweets, and other social media to summarize consumer sentiment about its products and measure brand strength.” P&G Chairman and CEO Robert McDonald reportedly uses the dashboard in reviews of the corporate brand. Similar off-the-shelf programs are available from a number of software suppliers.
Digital Directors?
Understanding the intricacies of social media networks, as well as the broader demands that digital commerce places on many organizations, has also highlighted a need for greater subject expertise among board directors. According to a survey of corporate secretaries by the executive search firm Spencer Stuart, demand for directors with digital or technology backgrounds increased by 21 percent in 2011 from the year earlier.
“While demand for directors with digital expertise is on the rise, the supply of qualified candidates is small, and those candidates are more likely to have nontraditional backgrounds,” says Spencer Stuart. “This can make recruiting directors with these profiles especially challenging and may require boards to reconsider their perceptions about what an ideal director looks like.”
The firm says “boards should understand that directors with digital expertise may not have achieved the same stature as candidates from more traditional fields; many of these candidates have not reached the C-level, for example. These young, ambitious and, oftentimes, time-starved executives can be more transient than more established executives, and they may be less familiar with the customs of a corporate boardroom.”
One company that has recently added digital expertise to its board is Starbucks, which last year recruited social media entrepreneur Clara Shih as a director. Shih is CEO of Hearsay Social, a social media platform that enables businesses to engage with customers. Only 29-years-old at the time of her board appointment last December, Shih has previously held positions at Google, Microsoft and Salesforce.com
“Clara is a true technology leader and will bring fresh insight to our strong and forward-thinking Board,” said Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz. “We could not be more thrilled about the social-media expertise and ideas Clara will bring to our business as we continue to amplify the online experience and interactions Starbucks has with our customers, partners and communities.”
In announcing Shih’s recruitment, Starbucks also disclosed that another director with extensive digital expertise - Sheryl Sandberg, a board member since 2009 - would not stand for reelection. Sandberg is chief operating officer of Facebook, but not a member of its board.
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- Books: Using Social Media To Build a Better World
Tagged as: Brian Tayan, David F. Larker, FACE IT, Facebook, Governance, LinkedIn, Procter & Gamble, Sarah M. Larcker, Social Media, Spencer Stuart, Stanford Graduate School of Business, Starbucks, Twitter
Twitter Widens Gap On Facebook (But Pinterest Is On The Rise) In Monthly Media Coverage [STUDY] - AllTwitter #SoulcialMe
Last December we looked at research that showed how Twitter received more media coverage than any other social network in 2011, receiving approximately 50 percent of all media coverage of social networks throughout the year. Facebook was a close second at 45 percent, with LinkedIn (3.33 percent) a very distant third.
But has this trend continued into the first quarter of 2012, or is Twitter’s lofty position under threat from Facebook, and other, rising social platforms such as Pinterest?
The short answer: no. In fact, Twitter has widened the gap.
Highbeam Research have updated their quarterly social media index, and according to the latest data Twitter commanded some 55.17 percent of total media attention in Q1 2012, moving further ahead of second-placed Facebook, which fell to 41.18 percent. LinkedIn also dipped, registering just 2.23 percent overall.
While flavour-of-the-month Pinterest saw just 0.36 percent of media attention for the first quarter of the year, the platform has risen each month since January, and ranked above MySpace, and only marginally behind Foursquare, in March of this year.
Twitter is down around three quarters of a percentage point since January, and it’s possible that some of this coverage has been soaked up by the attention now being given to Pinterest, small as it is, at least relatively. Pinterest is up around half a percentage point since the beginning of the year. Still, this modest blip aside, Twitter should maintain its lead throughout 2012, although the upcoming Facebook IPO will generate a lot of column inches for Mark Zuckerberg’s beast, and could be enough to push it over the top.
(Source: Highbeam Research.)
5 Reasons Facebook Timeline’s time is limited | memeburn #SoulcialMe
By now, most Facebook users have made the transition to the new Timeline profile page, and it’s only inevitable that the resistant few will be forced to follow, as Facebook make the changes permanent in the next week or so. The change has been advertised as a way in which to “rediscover the things you shared”, but more importantly, as a way to map personal milestones that occurred in the days pre-social media. As with all Facebook updates, user response has been mixed, with many complaining that the new features are cumbersome to use; and to be fair, they’re not wrong. Unless Facebook make some serious alterations, Timeline will just be another blip on the timeline of social media failures.
1. Cover images are usually ignored
Facebook claim that covers can be used as a way to show everyone what you’re all about in one definitive image, but to be honest, this seems somewhat redundant. Profile pictures are still used as the primary avatar when interacting with other users, so why would you need another image to personalise your profile page? Ultimately, covers just lend themselves to a more visually cluttered screen, and ironically, it’s been found that most users ignore the image anyway. This is not really surprising. Facebook is about interacting with people you already know, so it seems somewhat superfluous to include a feature which aims to introduce you to an individual’s personality. Either, the cover needs to replace the profile picture, or it has to have some sort of interactive capability so that other users don’t intentionally ignore it.2. There’s a reason history is old
The whole point of Timeline is, or so Facebook says, to allow you the opportunity to see how your relationships have developed over time. Unfortunately, you’ll probably grow old as you wait for history to unfold. Timeline takes an age to load as you navigate through the years; and the longer the gap between entries, the more often you’ll have to wait. The idea is great, and for the sentimental among us, having the ability to look back on our Facebook conversations can be fun. But unless Facebook does something to speed up the process, or develops a better way in which to access archived information, very few users will take the time to reminisce.3. Taking up space is not a highlight
Yes, you can highlight posts on Timeline, unfortunately, it doesn’t really work. When you choose to highlight an event or post for all to see, Timeline merely expands the entry to take up more space. There is no other differentiation between a highlighted post and a regular post, and it’s unlikely that other users will notice the difference when scrolling through. Perhaps Facebook could take a leaf out of Twitter’s book and promote highlighted stories to the top of the Timeline (it already does this with its News Feed to a certain degree), or at least highlight the post in another colour to make it more noticeable.4. Timeline takes time
The fact that you are given seven days to edit, alter and design your new-look profile highlights the intense dedication needed to perfect the new layout. Overall, the concept of Timeline is good, and can give users a more rounded interactive experience as they bring older elements of their lives into the online social environment; however, Facebook also needs to consider that not all users use social media in the same way. Some users may not be willing to spend that much time editing, while others may not want to create such an in-depth profile. Either way, Facebook has to find a way to make the Timeline process less time-consuming, otherwise users aren’t going to utilise it the way it was intended.5. Not everyone is tech-savvy
While some users aren’t willing to dedicate the time needed to set up their Timeline properly, other users don’t know how to use the new settings at all. Facebook seems to have forgotten that it is not aiming to reach the student demographic anymore, and that more and more of its users are from older generations. It seems to take for granted that these users are as technologically savvy as its original primary users, but as Marc Prensky explains, older users are more like digital immigrants than digital natives, and that like immigrants, they often have to learn and adapt to the new rules of social interaction provided by social media. Subsequently, Timeline’s settings need to be simplified to ensure that all users are able to interact equally otherwise, Facebook could see a mass exodus of users to the more simple surroundings of Google .
What's your Facebook page worth? | Washington Times #SoulcialMe
Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn top the list of social networks with the most valuable members.These networks are part of a social currency exchange, according to a study from the cloud data backup service Backupify, which measured the worth of social networking. Members make money for every tweet, status update, pin, check-in, connection, photo and video that they post on social networking sites.
“We want to get people to think about the value of the content they are creating,” Backupify CEO and co-founder Rob May said, “and how much it is worth to them.”
In the world of social networks, content that encourages user activity and interaction is valuable.
“If you’re a social network, you want to think about the types of content your users can create,” Mr. May said. “Photos are pretty valuable compared to other types of content. While text is much less valuable.”
That’s why Facebook is worth $100 billion. The world’s most popular social network makes $118.34 for every member on the site, according to the study. Facebook gives members more opportunities to produce content, such as status updates, photos, videos, links and likes. Facebook users also can make friends, follow companies, join groups and more.
It also helps that Facebook has been able to attract about 845 million users, a feat Mr. May doubts any other social network will be able to accomplish.
“None of the other social networks will ever get close to the number of users that Facebook has,” he said. “They’re driving a lot of content creation and, therefore, are more valuable than users in other social networks.”
LinkedIn, valued just shy of $10 billion, has the second most valuable users.
“That makes sense because you’re tied to people’s professional networks,” Mr. May said. “It’s very important who you know in your career, what you’ve done.”
LinkedIn’s 92 million users focus on professional credentials, work experience and business connections.
“I think LinkedIn will eventually make more money per user than Facebook, because the data they are storing will be more valuable,” Mr. May said.
Twitter is the second most valuable social network at $10 billion and has the fourth most valuable users at $71.43 each. The tweets, however, are the lowest performing social media content, with each post worth 0.001 cents.
“One tweet doesn’t create a lot of value for the other people on Twitter because the things in my Twitter stream are not things that I’m acting on in general,” Mr. May said. “Most tweets are pay-me-to-read-them, right? They’re not that interesting.”
Yelp, on the other hand, has some of the less valuable users, at $21.21 each, but their individual posts are worth more than any other piece of social media content at $9.13. The social review site is worth $1.4 billion.
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Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Make Social Networks Work for Your Start-Up #SoulcialMe
When Maxine Gardner started an online business selling original artwork in 2010, she says she felt compelled to immediately dive into social networking to promote it.
She had just completed several workshops on entrepreneurship where free sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn were a hot topic. She also didn't have enough money to buy advertising because her main source of income until that point—freelance photography work—had dried up.
Augusto CosthanzoBut Ms. Gardner says she didn't know which social networks made the most sense for her Huntington Woods, Mich., start-up, called Artful Vision, or how to begin. She also had a slew of other tasks on her plate and wasn't sure if joining sites like Facebook should take priority.
"In the beginning, it was helter-skelter," recalls Ms. Gardner, now 59 years old. "You're so busy, you don't what you're doing."
If you're starting a business on a shoestring budget, you might be tempted to build a social-media presence for it right off the bat. Social networks are typically free to join and can be used for marketing, or even as an alternative to a company website.
They're also wildly popular. Facebook users spent an average of seven hours on the site in February, according to market-research firm comScore.
But knowing which social-networking sites to join and how to take advantage of them can be daunting for a rookie entrepreneur. There are dozens to choose from—including fast-growing sites like Google and Pinterest—and scores of businesses are competing for attention on them.
Experts recommend waiting to jump in until your start-up is fully functioning because effectively managing one or more social-networking profiles can take a great deal of time and energy. What's more, they say rushing in without knowing what you're doing can potentially result in embarrassment or worse. For example, a poorly executed reply to a Facebook message from an unhappy customer could go "viral"—meaning it could get reposted many times over on the Web—if the recipient were to share it with his or her Facebook friends.
"Your first priority is to get your operation started," says Kevin Ready, author of "Startup: An Insider's Guide to Launching and Running a Business" and a seasoned entrepreneur in Austin, Texas. "Social media is a long-term investment and not magic. It's hard work."
When you're ready to test the waters, Mr. Ready suggests starting with just one social network, ideally one that caters to your target market. For example, you might try LinkedIn if your business sells goods or services to other businesses because that site's membership is made up of mostly companies and business professionals, he says.
One caveat: It may be wise to secure your start-up's name on any social networks you're confident you'll use even before you're ready to actually get started. This way you'll avoid possibly losing the name to another business or individual while you focus on building your venture. You can post a "coming soon" message until you're ready to begin using it.
One of the first steps that Seph Skerritt took when launching ProperCloth.com, an online custom-clothing business, was to claim its name on Facebook and Twitter. "Your worst nightmare is someone else gets it and you can't use your own brand name," says the 32-year-old, who began working on his New York-based business in 2008 while still in graduate school.
But Mr. Skerritt regrets attempting to use the sites right afterward because he got burned out trying to keep up with both while still building the infrastructure for his venture. "You could spend all day replying to people and starting conversations," he says. So early on he decided to put his company's Twitter account on hold to make his workload more manageable.
Today, he has two employees, one of whom is responsible for assisting him with social-networking-related tasks, including his start-up's resurrected Twitter page. "We both have access to the accounts so we can jump in and respond to clients," Mr. Skerritt says.
If you haven't done so already, consider spending a few days or weeks familiarizing yourself with social-networking sites as a consumer before creating profiles on any for your business.
John Coffren took this step with Facebook because he'd never spent time on the site before opening Bliss Bakery, a bricks-and-mortar shop in Virginia Beach, Va., in mid-2008. He set up a personal account and checked out company profiles, including those of his competitors.
"If you see it from the consumer end, you definitely get an appreciation for how [consumers are] going to view your business," says Mr. Coffren, who last summer added a second Bliss Bakery location also in Virginia Beach.
One of his key take-aways: The most popular company profiles were those that engaged visitors with contests, surveys and special offers. He now runs about 10 promotions on Facebook a year that involve giving away free baked goods, such as doughnuts and cupcakes, to a random selection of his company's followers.
"The consumer nowadays is looking for what's in it for them," says Mr. Coffren.
Write to Sarah E. Needleman at sarah.needleman@wsj.com
